In just a couple of days, geeks and journalists from all over the world
will gather in Berlin for one of the year's largest tech events – the
Internationale Funkausstellung, also known as IFA. As usual, it is going
to be an event of massive proportions, and many of the top tech
companies will take advantage of the hype by announcing their latest
products. Here's a look at the gadgets that we're expecting to see
there.
Samsung
Excited about the newest range of Samsung printers? We aren't either. What we're actually looking forward to is the announcement of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. The phone is going to be unveiled at an Unpacked event, which is scheduled for September 3, and it is going to be a beast, judging by all the Note 4 rumors. It won't be the sole star of the show, however, as Samsung is believed to be readying a number of other gadgets.
Chances are that we'll see a new smartwatch at the Unpacked event, namely the rumored Samsung Gear Solo.
Unlike previous Samsung Gear smartwatches, this particular model is
expected to have a SIM card slot enabling it to make calls and connect
to the internet. On the downside, it will probably be quite expensive
for a gadget of this kind. Interestingly, we might also see a Google
Glass rival called Gear Glass and an Oculus-Rift-inspired virtual reality accessory called Gear VR. There's a higher chance of seeing the latter since photos of the device have leaked already.
Sony
Sony has its IFA event scheduled for
September 3, and at least two new smartphones are going to be announced
there. These are the Sony Xperia Z3 and the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact,
which we've been hearing rumors about for weeks. From the looks of it,
the former will become the company's newest Android flagship smartphone,
while the latter will be its "mini" version, offering similar specs and
features, but in a smaller package. Also, we won't be surprised if Sony
takes advantage of the occasion by announcing new wearable gadgets,
possibly a smartwatch and/or a smart fitness tracker.
UPDATE: Sony is rumored to be ready with a new tablet, dubbed the Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact. We are still not sure whether or not we should be expecting a "full-sized" Xperia Z3 Tablet. We should also mention that odd-looking Sony "selfie" phone with
a rotating camera, which has been making the rounds. If the latter is
indeed a real device and not just a quirky prototype, then there's a
good chance of seeing it in person at IFA.
UPDATE #2: Judging by what is shown in Sony's IFA teaser video,
we should be expecting the company to unveil at least three new
devices, most likely the Xperia Z3, the Xperia Z3 Compact, and the
Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact. As for the aforementioned "selfie phone", it is already official and isn't a phone at all.
Microsoft
There's something exciting that Microsoft has in stock for us – a new smartphone or two,
it seems. Rumor has it that the company will announce the Nokia Lumia
730 and Nokia Lumia 830 on September 4. The former is said to be a
low-cost model and taking good selfies could be its stand-out feature.
Reportedly, the Lumia 730 will sport a 4.7-inch display with a
resolution of 720 by 1280 pixels, a Snapdragon 400 SoC, 1GB of RAM, a
6.7MP rear and a 5MP front-facing camera. A dual-SIM model is also
expected. As for the latter, the Nokia Lumia 830 is rumored to be an
upper mid-range phone with a 13MP camera and a Snapdragon 800 SoC.
Without a doubt, both Lumias will run Windows Phone 8.1.
UPDATE: According
to Baidu – China's most popular search engine – the Lumia 730 will have
dimensions of 134.7 x 68.5 mm (5.3 x 2.69 in), and have support for 4G
LTE, Qi Wireless charging, microSD card expansion, and work with Nano
SIMs. Judging from the FCC certificate of one of the device's model
RM-1038, the 730 will also boast NFC support, and will be compatible
with LTE networks operating on band 7.
Huawei
Huawei is expected to introduce a new smartphone on September 4, and judging by the leaks, it is going to be worthy of rivaling the competition's high-ends. Allegedly, the handset will be known as the Huawei Ascend D3 (or D7) and will stand out with a premium, metal construction.
It is said that Huawei's
new phone will have a 6-inch screen with a resolution of 1440 by 2560
pixels (also known as QHD), 3GB of RAM, and a Kirin 920 octa-core
system-on-chip. Its main camera will offer 13MP of resolution, the
front-facing one will be a 5MP shooter, and 16GB of on-board storage
will be present, according to what has been leaked so far.
Interestingly, a trimmed-down version of the same phone, with a 1080 by
1920-pixel display and 2GB of RAM, is also rumored to be in the works.
We should also mention that the back panel of the phone appears to have
an opening where a sensor, presumably a fingerprint scanner, is
speculated to reside. On the software side of things, we're expecting to
see a heavily modified variant of Android 4.4 Kit Kat with Huawei's
very own EMUI 3.0 user interface on top.
UPDATE: A yet-unannounced
mid-range phone by Huawei has been caught in the wild. Photos of the
handset, albeit in a protective case of some kind, have been exposed,
along with a handful of specs. It is said that the phone, which goes
only by the Z100-CL00 model name, sports a 720 x 1280-pixel display, a
1.6GHz processor of unknown make and model, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage,
dual-SIM capabilities, and what appears to be a fingerprint scanner.
This could be a toned-down version of Huawei's next flagship, or it
might turn out to be an entirely new phone. Either way, we hope to learn
more about it at the IFA expo. Oh, and while we're at it, here's a few
more screenshots from Huawei's new user interface.
UPDATE #2: Huawei has pretty much confirmed that it will unveil the Ascend Mate 7 at IFA 2014.
Asus
Asus has a press event set for
September 3, and we're expecting it to be dedicated to a whole bunch of
devices. One of them is rumored to be a smartwatch – a smartwatch
running the Google Wear platform. While specs aren't known, it is said
that Asus's smartwatch will be a fashionable timepiece
with an attractive price. In fact, the gadget might cost between $99
and $149. We aren't sure what else is going to be announced at the
event, but there's a chance of seeing a new lineup of ZenFone Android
smartphones and possibly Intel-based Android and/or Windows 8 tablets.
UPDATE: We just found out that a new PadFone device, known as the Asus PadFone X mini,
is in the works. There's a good chance of seeing it being announced IFA
in Berlin, and AT&T could be interested in offering the device.
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